A couple of weeks ago, Elizabeth sent me a link to this CBC article about a children's hospital in Nova Scotia looking for donations of hand-knit finger puppets. It was just before our September knitting tea, and I was inspired to quickly print off the patterns provided by the IWK Health Centre and gather some scrap yarn to make a puppet or two.

As designers and yarn dyers, much of our knitting time is spent swatching rather than working on projects. In fact we have boxes of swatches!

Many knitters avoid swatching and I admit that I used to be one of those knitters. I was always impatient to get to the good part of starting a project instead of wasting time swatching. "I'm usually close enough to gauge, right? I'm sure it will be fine."

Earlier this spring I got an email from Pop Montreal with a call-out for vendors for the Marché des Possibles, which they organize on summer weekends in the Mile End neighbourhood. I happened to mention to my wonderful dye studio interns that I would love to do it but didn't think I had time to deal with organizing it. "We'll do it!" they said, and so I booked us a booth for the weekend of July 16 and 17.

In the most recent batch of books that we were sent for review from Interweave was a copy of Modern Baby Knits by Tanis Gray. I jumped on this one because I seem to have a lot of friends expecting little ones these days, and was in the market for some fresh ideas for baby gifts. The introduction promises designs that are "easy to knit and have fuss-free finishing, bright colors, easy-care fibers, and modern silhouettes" and the patterns following it definitely live up to this statement.

It's hard to believe that it's more than six weeks now since Elizabeth and I packed up all the Sweet Paprika yarn and patterns and drove our little Communauto car down to Toronto for the Knitter's Frolic (a giant knitting festival, organized by the Toronto Knitter's Guild). There are a number of classes and workshops, and a marketplace full of vendors selling pretty much anything a knitter could want. We've had a booth in the market for four years now, and it's one of our favourite events to attend.

Kate Atherley is a renowned knitting teacher, author, and technical editor. She’s currently the Managing Technical Editor for knitty.com, regularly teaches at yarn stores in Toronto, and frequently travels to teach and speak at events across North America.

These muffins are a great way to use up pears if you find yourself with extra, or if they ripen a bit too much before you get to eating them. They also work well with apples if you don't happen to have pears around.

Refined Knits: Sophisticated Lace, Cable, and Aran Lace Knitwear is a new book by Jennifer Wood, which includes our Messa di Voce as the suggested yarn for one of the sweater projects. It's a beautifully put-together book, full of knitting inspiration.

Contest is now closed. Thank you to everyone who participated, and congratulations to our winner, Mary, who will be receiving three skeins of Cardamom as her prize!

Elizabeth and I have been working since last spring on putting together our very first Sweet Paprika Shawl Club, and we're super excited to finally get to share it with the rest of the world. Sign-ups are now open, and but spots are limited!

What is a Shawl Club?

A shawl club can be many things, but usually it consists of either several shawl patterns, or patterns matched with yarn, that are released exclusively to members over a given period of time. There are some great ones out there, and we were inspired to put together a club of our own that includes not only exclusive patterns and the yarn to knit them with, but some other little treats to enjoy.

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Sweet Paprika Designs offers high-quality materials for knitters and crocheters, with a focus on locally-sourced and sustainable products. Co-owners (and sisters) Debbie and Elizabeth create their own hand-dyed yarns, knitting kits and patterns in their Montreal dye studio and organize knitting and dyeing events in the community.

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About Sweet Paprika

Sweet Paprika Designs offers high-quality materials for knitters and crocheters, with a focus on locally-sourced and sustainable products. Co-owners (and sisters) Debbie and Elizabeth create their own hand-dyed yarns, knitting kits and patterns in their Montreal dye studio and organize knitting and dyeing events in the community.

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